Puck system

Abstract

A puck system achieves adjustable stance in three degrees of freedom—foot placement, foot angulation, and crosswise centering—on a snow gliding board. The puck system includes pairs of puck assemblies for each rider's foot. Puck assemblies are formed from a sliderblock, a flanged disk, and fasteners for each puck. To achieve crosswise centering, the sliderblock is patterned on a top face so as to engage a detent on the underside of the flanged disk in one of many crosswise positions. In a preferred embodiment, the patterned surface includes stepwise offset circular grooves, the grooves providing rotational freedom of angulation at multiple axes of rotation according to the crosswise displacement of the sliderblock in the mounting channel, thereby realizing independent, finely granular adjustment of stance and center of balance for the first time. The system may be used with most boot binding interfaces on the market and may be adapted for either splitboards or snowboards. Also offered are alignment tools for improving and simplifying ride mode interface setup. Advantageously, the system preserves optimal torsional stiffness K, a key parameter of performance in splitboarding and snowboarding.

I claim: 
     
       1. A puck system for mounting a pair of boot bindings on a snow gliding board, which comprises a pair of puck assemblies for cooperatively mounting each boot binding, wherein each puck assembly of said pair comprises a sliderblock, a flanged disk, and at least one fastener, and further wherein said pair of puck assemblies are configured to cooperatively adjust stance orientation for each boot binding in three degrees of freedom including: a) pairwise boot placement adjustment relative to the nose end and tail end of the board, b) pairwise boot angulation optimal for the rider, and, c) pairwise crosswise centering for each boot relative to the edges of the board. 
     
     
       2. The puck system of  claim 1 , wherein said puck system comprises a first pair of puck assemblies for a first boot of a rider and a second pair of puck assemblies for a second boot of a rider, each said puck assemblies of said pair comprising a
 a) sliderblock having contralaterally disposed superiolateral edge flanges, wherein said edge flanges define a slider track configured to receive an underside channel of a boot binding thereon; 
 b) a flanged disk configured to seat on top of said sliderblock between said edge flanges; 
 c) at least one fastener affixable to mounting hardware disposed in a top surface of a snow gliding board; wherein said at least one fastener is adapted to capture said sliderblock under said flanged disk and compressedly lock said sliderblock between said flanged disk and a top surface of a snow gliding board on which said sliderblock rests; 
 further wherein, 
 i) said flanged disks are configured to be slideably adjusted pairwise on said at least one fastener longwise on a centerline of said snow gliding board, thereby defining a first degree of freedom for adjustment of stance; 
 ii) said sliderblocks are configured to be adjustably rotated pairwise on said flanged disk relative to a centerline of said snow gliding board, thereby defining a second degree of freedom for adjustment of stance; and, 
 iii) said sliderblocks are configured to be slideably adjusted pairwise on said flanged disks, having a crosswise slideable adjustment relative to a centerline of said snow gliding board, whereby a boot binding is adjustable toe-to-heel to be equidistant from the lateral edges of a snow gliding board, thereby defining a third degree of freedom for adjustment of stance. 
 
     
     
       3. The puck system of  claim 2 , wherein
 a) said flanged disk comprises a cap plate with underside surface and flange edge, a mounting post centrally dependent from said underside surface, a detent feature peripherally disposed on said underside surface; and, 
 b) said sliderblock comprises a top surface having a recessed mounting channel for receiving said cap plate with flange edge, a center cutout for receiving said mounting post, and a patterned surface on said top surface for engaging said detent feature of said flanged disk. 
 
     
     
       4. The puck system of  claim 3 , wherein said detent feature is a circular detent ridge and said patterned surface comprises a plurality of mating circular female grooves, each groove being offset stepwise along said mounting channel, each groove defining one of a plurality of axes of rotation of said sliderblock on said detent ridge, each said axes of rotation having a incremented stepwise offset from a centerline of a snow gliding board. 
     
     
       5. The puck system of  claim 2 , wherein said pairwise angulation of said sliderblock on said flanged disk is enabled over a range of 30 to −30 degrees relative to a stance normal to a centerline of a snow gliding board and said crosswise slideable adjustment of said sliderblock on said flanged disks is incrementally adjustable over a range of 0.5 inches or more. 
     
     
       6. The puck system of  claim 2 , wherein said sliderblock is a compressible plastic member having an internal cutout for receiving said mounting post. 
     
     
       7. The puck system of  claim 2 , wherein said mounting post of said flanged disk defines an internal slot, said slot for admitting said at least one fastener therethrough. 
     
     
       8. The puck system of  claim 2 , wherein said puck assembly comprises a metallic flanged disk and a reinforced plastic sliderblock. 
     
     
       9. The puck system of  claim 2 , wherein said pairs of puck assemblies are each configured to be separated by a fixed separation distance. 
     
     
       10. The puck system of  claim 2 , wherein said first puck pair includes a toeside sliderblock and a heelside sliderblock, and said toeside sliderblock has a larger aspect ratio than said heelside sliderblock. 
     
     
       11. The puck system of  claim 2 , wherein said at least one fastener comprises one pair of fasteners per puck assembly. 
     
     
       12. The puck system of  claim 11 , wherein said first puck pair and said second puck pair are included in a kit for mounting a pair of boot bindings of a rider. 
     
     
       13. A kit for mounting a pair of boot bindings on a snow gliding board, which comprises for each boot binding of said pair,
 a pair of puck assemblies for cooperatively mounting each boot binding, wherein each puck assembly of said pair comprises a sliderblock, a flanged disk, and a pair of fasteners, said sliderblocks having contralateral flange ledges, wherein said pair of puck assemblies are configured to cooperatively adjust stance orientation for each boot binding in three degrees of freedom including: a) pairwise boot placement adjustment relative to the nose end and tail end of the board, b) pairwise boot angulation optimal for the rider, and, c) pairwise crosswise centering for each boot relative to the edges of the board; and further comprising, 
 an installation alignment tool configured to cooperatively orient said puck assemblies so that said flange ledges of said pair of puck assemblies are parallel as installed. 
 
     
     
       14. The kit of  claim 13 , wherein said installation alignment tool is further configured to cooperatively position said puck assemblies so that said sliderblocks are installed with a fixed separation distance. 
     
     
       15. The kit of  claim 13 , wherein said installation alignment tool is a full frame tool having a frame sized to engirdle said puck assemblies during installation. 
     
     
       16. The kit of  claim 15 , comprising instructions for using said full frame tool. 
     
     
       17. The kit of  claim 13 , wherein said installation alignment tool is a pocket sized installation alignment tool. 
     
     
       18. The kit of  claim 16 , comprising instructions for using said pocket sized installation alignment tool. 
     
     
       19. The kit of  claim 13 , further comprising a pair of boot bindings, each with a boot binding baseplate. 
     
     
       20. The kit of  claim 19 , wherein said baseplate and puck system in combination defines a ride mode interface having a torsional stiffness in the range of 70 to 130 inch-lb/degree when said baseplate is mounted on said puck assemblies. 
     
     
       21. The kit of  claim 13 , further comprising a snow gliding board, wherein said snow gliding board is selected from splitboard or snowboard. 
     
     
       22. An improved boot binding interface for splitboarding, which comprises:
 a) a first puck and a second puck enabled to be fastened on a top surface of a board, each said puck having
 i) a flanged disk with cap plate and underside surface, said flanged disk having a mounting post on said underside surface, said mounting post having walls defining a slot extending therethrough, said slot for receiving a pair of threaded fasteners; 
 ii) a sliderblock with topside face, underside face, and two superiolateral parallel flanges contralaterally disposed thereon, a mounting channel between said flanges, said channel having a width and depth adapted to receive said flanged disk, and a cutout extending through said sliderblock in said mounting channel, wherein said cutout is enabled to receive said mounting post; 
 
 b) wherein said first puck and said second may be cooperatively rotated so that said contralateral parallel flanges are aligned for receiving a boot binding; and, 
 c) further characterized in that said topside face of said sliderblock in said mounting channel comprises a plurality of offset circular grooves and said underside surface of said flanged disk comprises at least one detent ridge ring adapted to lockingly engage one of said plurality of offset circular grooves when tightened against said sliderblock member, said offset circular grooves enabling incremental adjustment of a separation distance between said first puck and said second puck, while independently enabling centerwise adjustment of a position of said pucks crosswise on a board and cooperative rotational angulation thereof. 
 
     
     
       23. A method for centering a ride mode interface toe-to-heel on a board, which comprises:
 a) providing a toeside puck and a heelside puck, each said puck having a flanged disk mounted in a channel on top of a sliderblock, wherein a bottom surface of said flanged disk and a top surface of said channel comprise a plurality of engagement detents; 
 b) affixing said sliderblocks to a board by inserting said flanged disks thereon and fastening said flanged disks loosely to a board with at least two threaded fasteners; 
 c) cooperatively adjusting said sliderblocks on said flanged disks so as to center a boot binding crosswise toe-to-heel relative to a centerline of a board; and, 
 d) tightening said at least two threaded fasteners to secure said sliderblocks when centered crosswise. 
 
     
     
       24. The method of  claim 23 , further comprising adjusting said sliderblocks on said flanged disks so as to define an end-to-end distance for securing a binding baseplate having a heel lock in locking contact with an outside end of said heel puck and a toe lock in contact with a toe end of said toe puck. 
     
     
       25. The method of  claim 24 , further comprising providing an installation alignment tool configured for cooperatively aligning and orienting said toeside puck and said heelside puck. 
     
     
       26. The method of  claim 23 , further comprising an installation alignment tool configured to for cooperatively spacing said toeside puck and said heelside puck. 
     
     
       27. A method for installing a boot binding on a snow gliding board, which comprises a means for adjusting a boot binding to be centered crosswise relative to a centerline on a snow gliding board.